Tender Loving Touch
by Lolita The Gothic
Summary: [One-shot] For a girl who was accident-prone all her life, Bella always said she hated hospitals. Yet, recently she has been spending so much time in them. Carlisle begins to understand why.


**Tender Loving Touch  
(One-shot)**

_**Warning: This story is rated for (Mature) audience, which includes scenes of sexual nature. View's discretion is advised. **_.. Also excuse any errors, I check my own writing/grammar and I don't do a very good job.

* * *

**Author's note: **_To celebrate my newfound freedom from Academic life I decided to do a one shot just to get into my groove since I feel my creative writing might be a mega-tad rusty.  
For this plotline's sake Carlisle is not married to Esme and their relationship is purely platonic. This is set when Bella first moved to Forks, and after she figured out the Cullen's secret._

* * *

A fragment of suspension first began to pick its way at the back of his brain on a rare day when the emergency room was peaceful and empty. But often enough, there would always be one particular visitor Doctor Carlisle Cullen would always anticipate, and often predict seeing, in the largest wing of the hospital.

She always preferred occupying one of the beds at the farthest end of the room. The beds that were reserved for the most gruesome and gory of accidents, where the curtains went all the way around the entire diameter of the area in order to shield the sight from other faint-hearted patient – The horror that could only be witnessed in a low rate slasher movie with lots and lots of fake blood, but in this case the blood and gore were real.

But on most regular days they were occupied by a little brown haired, rosy-cheeked, teenage girl, hiding behind the curtains, awaiting a medical staff to treat her most recent case of clumsy mishap.

Carlisle, being a vampire, with no need to rest, nor tire, or eat, was regularly on duty for the emergency room patients for a consecutive 72 hours. Being naturally pale with insomniac rimmed eyes added to affect of the 'workaholic doctor' illusion he fooled his co-workers with ease into believing. And so as the ritual of the nurses went, he was the first to be called upon to attend and treat the sick and ail.

And today was no different, he thought, as he was sitting in his office – on the first floor – passing the time by reading. His pager vibrated signaling his attention and immediate attendance.

Carlisle lifted the generously thick-paged book off his lap, placed it on his desk while he finished the last paragraph in that particular page, and snapped the book shut. He didn't even need to place a bookmark to signal his reaching point; he has memorized it with his photographic memory and can return to where he stopped with one flick of a finger. He felt a little satisfaction in knowing he has never needed to bookmark any of his readings in the last three hundred years of his eternal life.

Musing on the thought, he walked gracefully across the hospital corridors, passing several doctors and nurses on his way – in the halls and while descending the stairs to the ground floor. And being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, Carlisle always nodded to them as he passed, with a careful thought to grace his lips with a friendly smile.

The medical staff, being unaware of his true nature, always marveled and wondered how can the young handsome doctor always seem to remember the name of every person working in the establishment.

He was always pleasant, even on gloom rain filled days – in Forks that was nearly every single day. He took on outrageous hours. Never hesitated to take holidays or night shifts. He assisted the interns. He instructed and supervised the residents and House-staff. And currently he had a fellow doctor working under his wing, and at this moment checking on his in-patients in another part of the hospital.

Did they also mention that the good doctor Cullen never forgets a single staff's birthday? And always remembered to offer his best wishes. Clearly he was too good to be true.

But it was always the nurses that seemed to feel extra special and bigheaded to know that the good doctor remembered their names. Especially since the 'norm' of the nurse's system was to always referred to them by their first names, unlike the doctors who were addressed by professional title then their surnames.

The collective female nurses virtually swooned and giggled every time Doctor Cullen greeted them by elegantly rolling their names on the tip of his eloquent tongue, and pursing his perfect lips to pronounce every syllable. And it was always followed by an audible, dreamy sigh that Carlisle usually caught clearly with his sharp hearing as he walked passed them.

The good doctor did ponder cutting the habit of his usual acknowledgment of greeting to the staff. Yet the well-mannered part of him – the part that his dearly departed human parents taught him – argued that it was immoral, unethical, and simply rude. Carlisle Cullen was never_ rude_, not to his adversaries and certainly not to his colleagues.

As he smartly reached the ground floor, one corridor stood from his destination. And Carlisle had to muster all his good will to _inwardly _groan, and ensure it didn't show a hint on his outwardly calm face.

Because right at the end of that long vertical hall stood in his sight the double doors to the emergency wing – his destination.

But the source of his chagrin was that halfway through there was another set of double doors on the left that veered and led to the X-ray section. And regrettably _those _double set doors were wedged _wide_ open.

What was even more vexing was the fact that he would be within range of the entrance to the x-ray wing in order for him to reach the emergency doors. Ergo He would be in visual sight of the reception desk right on the other side if he took a few steps forward, and caught by whoever was on duty during that day. And he winced when he recalled who was on duty that day.

He stopped in his tracks before he reached the vicinity of the area. He knew CCTV cameras monitored the X-ray wing, yet this long hall was free and clear from any surveillance cameras.

Thanking the lord for placing luck on his side, Carlisle looked behind him to make sure not a soul was around to watch what he was about to do. Then he marched casually forward. But before he passed in front of the doors to the x-ray wing, he picked up his speed and flew so fast by them, he was confident that the person on duty at the reception would never be quick to see the flicker of a blonde blur pass by.

With a sure triumphant smile, Carlisle pushed the doors to the emergency room and reached the reception area in the center of the floor and the nurse behind the counter and grab the file that was placed waiting for him for the patient he was to tend.

Carlisle nodded to the moderately young nurse, before making his way across the line of beds that were lining the entire wall before him. He totally missed the longing gaze the nurse shot across his backside, as she gazed upon the broad expanse of his shoulders, while subconsciously flicking her shoulder length ginger locks off her shoulders, and fanning her neck in the process. Carlisle might not have seen the act, but he clearly heard the rhythm of her pulse rapidly increasing.

Trying to play ignorant to the presence behind him. The blond doctor eyed the row of neat and empty beds that was exposed to his sight. Before his eyes came to halt on the very last bed in the long line, the one with the curtains drawn all the way to shield the occupant from the entire room, creating a protective space between her and the rest of the world.

He didn't even need to look at the name on the file. He could give a perfect guess as to whom it was behind that foam green sterile plastic drapes.

This time he smiled. But not the subtle smirk Carlisle allowed himself privately. He smiled a true, wide, and genuine smile that showed his entire set of pearly perfect razor teeth. That would probably intimidate the average human with their sharp display. But no – this particular girl was not like the average human.

"_Miss Swan_. Welcome back." Carlisle joked. Instantly dropping the aura of profession around him to adapt to a friendlier atmosphere towards the young girl.

"Hello _Doctor Cullen_." Bella greeted, a light tint on the apples of her cheeks. Her tone was more clipped and formal. But the arch of her brow was all sarcasm.

Carlisle offered her a wider smile; one he wouldn't dare show to acquaintances but for this little brunette it was all well and good. "Now now, Bella, didn't I tell you to call me Carlisle?"

"But you're at work."

Carlisle nodded. "Yes,"

He looked behind him at the relatively empty emergency room, apart from him and Bella, and the nurse stationed by the desk at the _far_ center of the room. "I'm knee deep in work as you can see, the hospital doesn't reward me enough. Do you think I should ask for a raise?" He gestured to the room for sarcastic emphasize, and a wounded look on his face.

Bella lightly giggled. "You have a point, _Carlisle_."

"Well that wasn't too hard, was it?" Bella's blush deepened a shade. And Carlisle immediately took notice, he cleared his throat, a human habit he assumed when he wished to initiate a different topic.

"Now how may I offer my medical services?"

"I slipped and fell on my ankle. I may have twisted it." Bella answered with a hesitant and mumbled tone.

Carlisle quietly shook his head at the clumsiness of the young girl, and reached behind him to drag the small stool closer to the bed. "Let me have a look."

He sat on the chair while he patiently waited for Bella to remove her shoe and sock and place them on the bed beside her, before tentatively offering her foot to the good doctor.

Carlisle reached out to cradle her injured foot in his hands, and lightly laughed when Bella twitched at the cold temperature of his skin sliding against her warm ankle.

"Sorry." Carlisle warily offered with a slight tug to his lips. Shrugging his shoulders innocently.

"Its alright. I should be used to it by now, but it still takes me by surprise sometimes."

"And I cannot tell you how I appreciate your normalcy with us. You have been nothing but warm and welcoming to my family. Alice is practically _over the moon_ about you." He said, his olden British accent giving away to his true heritage.

"I should be the one who is grateful. I mean … _I am_ grateful. More than you know." She took to playing nervously with the hem of her sweater than meeting the amused gaze of the vampire sitting in front of her.

They momentarily fell into a comfortable silence as Carlisle examined Bella's ankle. And he felt her gaze linger over his head.

"It is not seriously sprained," He finally declared. "You may have twisted it lightly. I can feel the swelling begin, and it will follow with light bruising in a few hours. I will need to bind it. And _you_ need to promise me you will keep yourself off your feet for the next few days." He explained in his brisk professional tone.

He lifted his eyes to look at the timid, silent girl. "Promise me?" He pressed again and rose from the low stool

"I promise." Bella huffed, blowing her fringe across her forehead.

Carlisle momentarily engrossed himself at her slight innocent frustration. "The cold weather will not be to kind on your ankle as well. Make sure you soak it in warm water to ease any further swelling." He offered a pointed look for his instructions to be heeded.

"Yes _Doctor _Cullen," Bella retorted with a mock smile.

Carlisle was well on his bout to teasing her back except a voice sounded right over his shoulder, causing both him and Bella to flinch so suddenly. Carlisle had to grasp his bearing – so engrossed with his little banter with Bella that he forgot the world around him and where they were at the moment.

Turning around and stepping to the side, Carlisle – much to his dismay, noticed it was nurse Emma, the very person he wanted to avoid running into that day.

"Doctor Cullen," She purred with a seductive attempt. "How is the little patient doing?" though she was inquiring about said patient who was still very much present, and sitting right in front of her. Nurse Emma made it very bluntly obvious that she was not approaching the good doctor with concern for the patient. And rather more to be close to the handsome blonde doctor without the barrier of a large counter desk in the way, or wishing one of his patients would need to have their appendages x-rayed for her to be needed by him. And needed by him she so desperately wanted to be.

As the outrageous and tightly dressed nurse tried to casually step closer to Carlisle, he in return took a step back, and unconsciously a foot closer to Bella's side.

Nurse Emma paused and now that Bella was more within her tunneled vision of the doctor, she mistook Carlisle's awkward distance as a sign of casual professionalism within the work environment. Although in his fast paced mind it was anything but that.

The dark haired nurse attempted to hide the frown on her face with a bright smile as she looked to Bella now. But her smile took on a more petty appearance when she locked gazes with the auburn haired teenager. As though Bella was the element that was ruining this precious moment for the older woman.

Sensing the inept tension in the air, Carlisle made fast work of defusing it by putting some distance between the two females. "Nurse Emma, would you kindly fetch me the thick bind bandages from the supply shelf?" he requested in his deep tenured voice.

The busty nurse didn't move for a moment. Instead she looked from him to Bella and then to finally rest her blue eyes on the blonde doctor's face. "Would you like anything else, Doctor Cullen?" she voiced, blushing, and annoyed. But she didn't let her voice betray it as it was laced with a double entendre that she hoped the doctor would pick up on, and the little girl on the bed would be too young to understand or notice.

Carlisle didn't waver in his deep melodically pleasant tone, putting on the act that he didn't know her insinuation. And for his sake he hoped Bella didn't notice much into it, but to her credit, Bella was more perceptive than she let on. "Yes. I seem to have forgotten the prescription pad in my office. Would you please bring for me the one we use for the hospital's pharmacy?"

"Certainly, Doctor." Gaining some of her confidence back, the tightly dressed nurse pushed her chest out and nodded before she gave Carlisle a wide saucy grin. Then proceeded to walk away, moving her hips with an extra forced sway.

Overdoing it couldn't even begin to describe what this nurse was attempting to reach in order to get Carlisle's attention. But that was not what made Bella's stomach twist with repulse at the obvious advances.

It was something else. Something small and shiny, and caught an obvious glint in the beam of the florescent blue-ish white lights. While the tart of a nurse was busy ogling Carlisle, and all his handsome glory. Bella, instead, eyed the nurse's golden wedding band with a frown of discrepancy on her face.

And Carlisle hadn't willingly missed it either. As he had to look anywhere else instead of the scantily dressed Nurse Emma, which included looking to Bella a few times and catching her obvious glare and distaste, like someone wedged a lime in her mouth.

While the busty dark haired nurse felt shameless about flirting while being matrimonially committed to someone else – Carlisle felt mortified and embarrassed. Where he came from, people would be _jailed_ for being overly friendly with a married individual. Those were lines that were never meant to be crossed. And Carlisle still held the value of matrimony to heart. If society has evolved beyond such regards for values of wedlock, he was sure he would have marched himself into Fork's police department and into a holding cell just to restore some shred of honor.

But that was how Carlisle was raised.

Just as soon as the nurse was returning with what Carlisle asked, the doors to the emergency wing that Carlisle walked through minutes ago, burst open. And a young man dressed in the same white doctor's coat as Carlisle's, scanned the room before he zeroed in on the good doctor. The flustered young doctor, with sandy brown hair and vibrant green eyes, walked in a fast pace.

As he took long strides, he swiftly passed the slowly pacing nurse Emma. And not waiting until he reached in front of Carlisle, he spoke while he closed the distance on him.

"Doctor Cullen, there you are! One of the in-patients is persistently asking for you. He wont let me examine him. It's either you or no one else, otherwise he throws a fuss." The green eyes doctor spluttered in a huff of words.

"Ah," Carlisle nodded in understanding. "It seems you have gotten acquainted with Mr. Newton senior on a good day."

Bella looked at Carlisle with shocked. She didn't know Mike Newton's grandparents lived in Forks. Mike may have mentioned it but Bella always blocked his voice out whenever he spoke. The boy hardly talked about anything beyond his boasting self-arrogance.

"You call that a _good_ day?" The other doctor grinned warily.

Nurse Emma finally reached the bed where Bella sat at and the two doctors hovered over, she attempted to make one final move on Carlisle. But he paid her no mind as he took the items he asked of her, thanking her without sparing a second glance. And returned his attention back to the other exasperated doctor in front of him.

So thoroughly annoyed, the dark haired nurse walked away. There were always other opportunities and other attempts, she thought.

"Well yes. On a bad day he would have thrown you out of his room. Possibly tossed a bedpan or two for good measures."

"Dear god," gasped the shocked doctor.

Carlisle laughed and offered a sympathetic smile to his colleague. "Don't think too badly of the old man. He has been checked into this hospital so many times it's practically a second home. And this visit has him in for kidney stones."

The other doctor grimaced, knowing full well from his medical information that kidney stones were a very painful process to endure. "And beside, if his wife was able to handle the man for 42 years. I believe we can survive his company for a couple of hours a day."

The young doctor nodded his understanding, and then suddenly his curious green eyes turned to regard the timid and quiet brunette sitting on the bed. Carlisle sat back down and set to work with the bandages while he spoke. "Pardon me for not making earlier introductions. Doctor Marshall this is Bella Swan. Bella this is my colleague Doctor Eliot Marshall."

Doctor Marshall smiled warmly at Bella and extended his hand. Caught in surprise by the gesture Bella immediately took his proffered hand and greeted him.

"I think Doctor Cullen is being too gratifying. I'm actually still under a Fellowship title. I shadow Doctor Cullen and learn the ropes." The sandy haired doctor narrowed his eyes, as though something finally dawned on him. "You are the Chief's daughter, aren't you? I've seen you around here a few times."

Carlisle remained silent as he worked. Focusing less on his task and more on his colleague and Bella's interaction.

Bella grimaced remembering the times she _was_ here and the reasons behind them. "Yeah. Charlie Swan is my dad. I guess the same last name gave it away." Bella smiled, blushing much more obviously than before.

Doctor Marshall smiled wider, showing perfect line of white straight dentures. Bella would not have been surprised if he worked as a doctor while modeling for toothpaste commercials on the side. "That too, and you also have his dimples. When you smile it shows." He remarked. And as though to prove his point, when Bella heard the comment she couldn't help grinning.

"Ah! There they are …. very charming." It was then that Carlisle noticed his colleague still grasping Bella's hand, but only when the other doctor decided to release it. And _only_ to run it through his wavy sandy locks that were slightly long and sleeked back in a styled fashion.

A little crease appeared between Carlisle's brow as an uncomfortable feeling passed in his chest. And not the awkward type that he felt that nurse Emma gave him with her obvious flirts. No, this feeling was different but he couldn't put a name to it. And he never felt it before. It bothered him a bit.

"I better get back to my rounds." The green-eyed doctor turned to Carlisle and looked at him expectantly.

Only then was Carlisle aware that his Fellow doctor was awaiting instruction. He cleared his throat to rid himself of this strange feeling before he spoke. "I will finish tending to Bella and I will join you shortly. You can resume examining the other in-patients. Delay your round with Mr. Newton Senior until I arrive."

Feeling somewhat relieved, the green-eyed doctor released a burden free sigh. His glowing smile was practically illuminating his high cheekbones and well defined jaw. And Carlisle observed how Bella was staring vacantly at him, and blushing a brilliant scarlet. That nagging feeling dropped heavily in Carlisle's stomach.

As the fellow doctor made to exit the emergency wing, he gave a very friendly smile to Bella followed by a wink before retreating within the depths of the hospital.

Carlisle having caught the overly friendly gesture, also took notice of the blush rapidly darkening on the teenage girl's cheeks and neck while she fidgeted on the bed. A deep frown settled on his face as he proceeded to wrap the bind tightly and securely around Bella's ankle.

Once he was done, he watched Bella as she placed her foot delicately in her shoe, forgoing the socks. He stood silent and deep in thought. As she finished and was ready to depart, he proceeded to assist her off the bed by offering her a hand and carefully balancing her back on her feet.

"Are you going to be well enough to walk on you own?" Carlisle asked as he wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder and rubbed her arm absentmindedly, while he walked her to the emergency exit.

Carlisle did his best to ignore the burning stare that a certain dark haired nurse, who was standing by the counter talking to the young ginger nurse behind it. They were shooting glares to the pair of them. Even though he could feel it burning the back of his head, and probably Bella's more so than him.

"Yeah. The bandage makes it easier to stand on." If Bella felt the scrutiny and tension then she didn't show it. She smiled lightly while walking peacefully beside Carlisle.

Carlisle couldn't resist ruffling her hair; he enjoyed the warmth and softness emanating from the innocent touch. "But do not stand too long on your feet. Keep yourself off them as much as possible." He instructed for a final time.

They came to a stop outside in the emergency parking. "Will do, Carlisle. With winter break I hardly have much reason to move around anyway."

The air was cold and small flakes of snow fell to the ground. A light breeze nipped at Bella's cheeks. And Carlisle took notice to the frost kissed rosiness on her skin. Before he could even stop himself, he fasted Bella's jacket properly, making sure to zip it all the way to the high neck that covered all the way to her jaw line.

Bella didn't object as he fussed over her like an overbearing protector. And when he was satisfied with as much care as he could give her, even from the elements, he rested his hands on her shoulder. Carlisle smiled warmly at the auburn haired girl.

For one last time he rubbed her arm and leaned down to plant a kiss on the top of her head, in the most natural gesture he offered to their friendship. "I will see you around, Bella."

"See you." Bella whispered back.

He stood for a few moments longer as he watched her walk to her vehicle, and drive away from the property before Carlisle decided to turn around and walk back into the building.

He would later make sure to inform Alice to stop by and see how Bella was doing. But as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket with a sign of an incoming text message. Carlisle smiled lightly and knew he didn't need to.

* * *

The next time Carlisle saw Bella at the hospital was the very next week, in the most unexpected way.

The hospital medical duties made Carlisle busy to anyone who wasn't injured or sick, and the patient cases were relentless from kids with flu and chickenpox all the way to adults who veered on the slippery frost road, because 'Safe driving' was not in their vocabulary.

Winter may have been a time-off for schools and some work places, but it was the hospital's busiest time. Carlisle barely had enough time to even drive back home for a fresh change of clothes and an overnight hunting trip before he had to rush back.

He didn't see Bella since her last visit to the hospital, and when he bump into Alice at home she assured him that Bella was doing fine. And so Carlisle had no reason to worry, but it still hasn't provided enough motives to stop him from having his thoughts center around what has transpired the last time he saw her.

Carlisle was going through patients faster than most doctors. And his abnormal stamina was positive cause for much morale among the staff. The doctors enjoyed having him around; he was literally a breath of fresh air compared to the mild snowy weather that has begun to set on their little town.

But what his colleagues didn't know that behind the peaceful face and the welcoming smile of a medical healer – Carlisle was working on semi autopilot.

He was half present and _more_ than capable in his duties. But the other half of his conscious was too preoccupied with a certain encounter that he refused to dismiss so easily. Dismissing something that he couldn't explain nor understand wasn't part of Carlisle's personality. Yet when he came to the realization immediately, he felt more plagued about it than before.

Carlisle may have been a vampire but he was still all man enough to acknowledge that his Fellow and colleague Doctor Marshall was a striking man. He had as much female _and male_ attention as Carlisle did. And being hyperaware of his surroundings, Carlisle caught the burse of interest on the first day he was assigned to be his mentor.

When they traversed solo, the stares Carlisle received were at least made with a sloppy concealed attempt. But when he and the other doctor walked the halls side by side, the entire staff just stopped and literally gawked openly.

They were like the popular girls at a high school, Alice once said. And Carlisle would have preferred if she stuck to a more masculine simile, but he had to agree.

While Carlisle retained the striking good looks of a golden age Hollywood actor, primed and groomed to perfection with little to no effort. And with an addition to his vampiric lure that made him attractive and appealing to their natural food source, though loathing of it he may have been.

Dr. Eliot Marshall had the modern charm of a down to earth man. A man who didn't care that he might have missed a day or five of shave, but could sport light facial hair with confidence. His wavy light brown hair was slightly longer than Carlisle's, and sleeked back to avoid falling over his eyes by threading his fingers into them one too many times as what an overworked person in his profession does.

And where Carlisle made sure his shirt and tie were fasted to a 'T' – Doctor Marshall omitted the tie all together and loosened the top two buttons of his dress shirt. Clearly the green-eyed doctor cared to maintain his hygiene but he didn't care enough to put etiquette grooming over his priority at the hospital. 'Ruggedly handsome' would have been the proper word to label him.

Carlisle had to admire his spirit though. He could see a lot of himself in Doctor Marshall when he started in medicine with the same zeal to help people as best as he could. Carlisle also had to highly respect that with the other doctor's obvious charm and pheromone attraction to female members of the staff, one of his position would have been gloating and arrogant in his right.

But no, he was humble and never submitted to the distractions of longing gazes and flirty gestures he received, putting patience's care always as first on his list.

Doctor Marshall knew flirting in the work place was most unwise. So the fact that it was obvious to Carlisle – as obvious as getting hit by a double-decker bus – that his colleague openly flirted with Bella the other day, even if it was mild and lasted for a moment, had shocked Carlisle. If he weren't a blood-lacking creature with a naturally pasty complexion, Carlisle would have been sure to gone pale at the thought with a stagger of blood lose to the face.

At first he couldn't put his finger on it when it was happening right in front of his eyes. But when he reflected on it later that night and the next several days. It just became clear as crystal. Carlisle was _way out_ of the modern flirting game, and he tried to rationalize it and pass it off as his colleague being friendly to the young girl – A little _too_ friendly, but still innocent nonetheless.

Carlisle knew he was fooling himself. But he accepted that reasoning since it was just limited to that one time.

So when he was passing the hallway on the first floor that had windows overlooking the main entrance to the hospital, Carlisle had to comically do a double take when he saw Doctor Marshall standing outside and talking with Bella.

He just managed to catch the last few seconds of the encounter, and could only overhear from his heightened supernatural hearing his fellow colleague explaining to Bella that Carlisle was busy somewhere around the hospital when she inquired.

It took all of Carlisle's mental will to command his body not to run blindingly fast across the halls, down the stairs and magically appear right in from of them just when his name was being mentioned. Not only would it have given him away as a vampire, it would also literally open Pandora's box to all supernatural beings. So to his dismay he stayed put from the top floor and _just_ observed.

Bella nodded her understanding and smiled gently at the doctor, she turned around and waved her hand as she walked away. That's when Carlisle noticed a fresh bandage covering one of Bella's wrists. And Carlisle cursed himself from not ignoring his own judgment and just went down there and at least asked Bella about it.

Instead he continued with his rounds all the while imagining himself kicking his own arse for being such a recluse when he needed to be more assertive.

Later Alice bounced in front of Carlisle when he arrived home to inform him that Bella accidentally burned her wrist on the oven while baking some cookies.

And if Carlisle thought that would have eased his mind. He was sadly mistaken.

Because the next morning when Carlisle met with Dr. Marshall at the hospital he noticed him arriving with a plate of cookies, and Carlisle didn't _need_ to ask to know who gave it to him. But he did ask anyway, and it dismayed Carlisle all the more when his colleague confirmed it was from Bella. Thanking the doctor for treating her burned hand the day before.

* * *

Carlisle wasn't one to be so cynical but on the weekend of that very same week, Bella came to visit the hospital again.

And unlike the last few times when she had a medical reason to show up, this time there was none.

None that could be logically justified ….

Carlisle was due to perform surgery in four hours; so he bided his time to casually check on his other patients while examining the approved forms for the local anesthesia to be used for his surgical patient.

He was relieved to have hunted the night before, so he was confident that he could perform incisions, be in the presence of blood, and touching live beating organs without any trouble.

Just as he was rounding the corner, Carlisle caught _her _scent before he heard her voice. How couldn't he, her scent had a near physical manifestation that it was like being dropped kicked a brick to the face. And no matter how many times he came across her presence, Carlisle could never get used to Bella's unique scent that shined a spotlight over her among the throngs of many. It was lovely, fruity and warm.

She was laughing, a delicate shy laughter that she offered in an uncomfortable situation. How in this world or the next did Carlisle tell the difference between her laughter was beyond him. But it just dawned on him that he _could_ actually tell the difference. And since it wasn't something done in his presence per-se, it made him acutely aware. But when he saw whom Bella was offering the luxury of her company to, Carlisle had to back track and retreat from their sight before they saw him. He leaned on the wall where he knew they wouldn't spot him, and with not enough guilt to make him walk away, he listened in on their conversation.

"Please I insist." He said. And Carlisle didn't need to peer behind the wall to know that there was a smile offered at the end of that sentence.

"I .. umm … I cant. Its not .. umm .." What on earth could make Bella stutter like that?

Carlisle's brows creased in frustration trying to pick up more into what was being discussed. And knowing that they were speaking in a public hallway of a general hospital, it might not have held much importance. But that did not diminish an ounce of Carlisle's peaked curiosity.

"Oh come on – it's the least I could offer. I'm not such a brilliant baker as you, or a cook of any sort." Doctor Marshall laughed. "And I think it would already make us sort of like friends now after you shared with me those delicious treats."

"But Doctor …" Bella stopped mid-sentence. What made her stop? Carlisle stopped breathing in the saturation of such anticipation in the air.

He was itching to just look over but he didn't want anyone who was passing by and seeing him peering over so suspiciously to think he was up to something. Which he was. But the way he was leaning on the wall and pretending to go over the file in his hand made him to onlookers as relaxed but busy enough to not be approached.

Finally Bella spoke in a low voice. "F-fine ..…E.. _Eliot_."

Carlisle's suddenly abandoned his false relaxed pose in shock, and the calm façade of pretending to read was shattered. He was sure if his heart were alive it would have stopped beating right then and there.

He wasn't even aware that venom pooled in his mouth until he had to swallow it down, or that his vision suddenly turned red until his lips curled over his teeth in a predatory snare that was unbecoming of him and his human upbringing. He was sure in that moment he looked inhuman and frightening.

He needed to isolate himself for a while and collect his thoughts. He ran as fast as his human pace could take him to the elevator on the other side of the floor, and pressed the button for the basement where the archives and morgue resided.

Carlisle knew he wouldn't be found nor disturbed there. He needed to collect himself and reflect on these bizarre feelings he was having that seemed to bring out a side of him he wanted to bury behind the walls of what remained of his humanity.

* * *

Another week came and went. Since Forks had long seasons of snow, during winter it was no surprise that the trees would shake with an ominous sign of an oncoming blizzard.

The schools were suppose to continue that same week, but with the weather warning, the Forks Police Department issued a safety warrant to extend winter break for two more weeks until further notice.

Carlisle wasn't worried his adoptive young ones weren't missing anything. Most of them had Doctorates and Masters, and graduated high school a total of forty-seven times combined. And half of them were not even in Forks at the moment, as they traded the winter for more exotic and tropical locations.

No, Carlisle's worries gravitated toward a certain young brunette who has done nothing but plague his thoughts for the past few weeks. He wondered what she was doing with her free days if school was not part of the equation. He wondered what Bella was doing in this current moment.

With this bad weather he would assume and hope she was staying at home and keeping herself out of any harm. A small voice in the back of Carlisle's mind urged him to drop in on her for a '_friendly visit_' but he should have thought of that brilliant idea _before_ he decided to sign on for a thirty-seven hour consecutive shift at the hospital.

He sighed as he looked out the window. The snowstorm had increased. His eyes then looked down at the cup of warm coffee in his hand with distaste. Why did everyone feel the need to push a cup of bitter dark coffee in the hands of any person walking in the vicinity of the medical staff's break room? And Carlisle was about to decline of-course, if the Chief resident wasn't among the people present. And he so obviously pointed out to everyone lounging in the room that Carlisle looked like he hasn't seen sleep in days, and it would be bad if he passed out right in front of a patient because of his workaholic habit.

Carlisle surrendered and grimaced when he was handed a cup of what looked like the same type of dark liquid extracted from the depths of the earth. And if they thought he was going to stick around for them to see him drink it, then pretty soon pigs would start falling from the sky. So he graciously excused himself, claiming he needed to make an urgent phone call. And he was relieved he wasn't pressed to stay for the opulence of his company. These past few weeks his mood was as bitter and dark as the coffee that filled his cup. Even smiling had become more of a hard task than a kind gesture.

Carlisle quickly and discreetly retreated to the solitude of his office, and leaned against the window, lazily gazing at the darkening sky and the falling snow.

But he wasn't lost in his thoughts for very long as he heard his cell-phone vibrated across his desk like a hyperactive woodpecker. He dropped the full cup of vile liquid in the bin beside his desk and leaned over with his other hand to grab and flip the phone.

Carlisle couldn't even begin to get the first syllables out of his mouth when he heard the clear, loud, and rushed words of his little Alice as she hurried to speak but nearly made no sense of what she was explaining.

"Carlisle! You have to get to the emergency room quickly! I'm so stupid and careless for not noticing it sooner. Jazz was …. Uhhh .. _distracting_ me!" Alice spoke, but Carlisle wanted to know what was the huge emergency.

In the background Carlisle could hear Jasper mumbling: '_You weren't complaining_.'

Carlisle sighed. "Alice, slow down for a moment and properly explain what you need me to know."

"Bella had an accident. Emergency room. NOW!"

And that's all it took for Carlisle to drop the cell and rush like a bat out of hell to the emergency wing.

He just hoped – he prayed that Bella was not severely involved. He wished she received the minor brunt of the damage. But most of all, Carlisle hoped that she would be alive!

Perhaps he should have asked Alice before his eyes laid upon the girl. But he couldn't stand still, and his hand went limp at his sides when the cell phone clattered by his feet. All the seconds in the world would never prepare Carlisle for what he might find when he reaches the doors to the emergency wing.

And if god didn't show mercy on the damned, then he prayed he would grace it to the innocent young girl that didn't deserve to be faced with such misfortunes.

Carlisle didn't know if he should have been grateful or not that he didn't prepare himself for what he saw when he arrive in the emergency room.

He wasn't aware of how deeply extensive the damage went as Bella's truck and seven other vehicles were involved in the wreck, ramming each other like domino pieces.

When Carlisle pushed through the doors, medical staff attacked him left and right, but he passed through them like they were nothing more than air. He couldn't see Bella, there were too many heads present, and she was a short little thing.

But her scent, that lovely scent that he has memorized by heart was stronger than ever. Not in the same way to be smelt when it was coursing through her veins. This pungent aroma was the smell of _spilt_ blood. And it made his insides curl in the most uncomfortable way. He used his trusted senses, guiding himself through instincts of smell to seek her out.

Not a few seconds later of pushing between warm bodies and he found her. And he was right. She was bleeding, excessively from her head. And she was fighting a battle to stay conscious.

Right then and there Carlisle vowed that if all his centuries of medical practice failed him to save this girl's life then he would never heal any one after her.

* * *

For once a miracle happened. Bella survived. The blood that gushed from her and made her state worse than it seemed was from a severed dominant vein. And once it was patched, and she was supplied donor's blood for all the blood she lost, then she was all right.

Her father arrived, nearly fainted himself with worry. But Carlisle assured him that he did his best, and his only daughter would survive. And after much persuasion from Carlisle, he convinced Charlie to allow Bella to stay in the hospital overnight for both their peace of mind.

Bella was resting serenely and Carlisle sat by the bed to watch over her. Nurses came and went dropping files onto his lap every few hours because Carlisle refused to move. By some mysterious force he couldn't will himself to be away from her. And watching her chest rise and fall with her breathing was hypnotically tranquil to him.

Suddenly Bella's eyes moved erratically under her lids. And little by little they lifted to reveal her chocolate gaze, hazy with exhaustion and disorientation. She looked around the room in confusion.

Carlisle rose from his seat and dropped his work on the chair he was just occupying. He stood over the bed and smiled at the young brunette.

And when her eyes were able to focus properly, Bella smiled back, if a little lethargically. "Hi," she whispered to Carlisle.

"Your finally awake." Carlisle spoke softly. In the quiet atmosphere of the room, he didn't want to disturb the calm and almost intimate mood.

"How long have I slept?" her voice was raspy and exhausted. Carlisle filled some water from the pitcher resting beside her bed.

"A few hours. It's past midnight now." He informed her while he lifted her head gently to drink from the straw.

Once she had enough, he laid her back slowly on the cluster of pillows while Bella eyed him curiously. "And your still here?" A crease appeared between her brows.

His lips tugged in a smile as he replied in a matter of fact tone. "Where else would I be? I always work the night shift."

She bit her lips almost uncertainly. Carlisle knew she had something to say and he waited patiently for her to collect her thoughts. "I mean … have you been by my side the whole time?"

He was caught off guard – And at the same time, not so much. He should have expected to be confronted with such a question. But from little shy and timid Bella, it was like getting sucker punched from behind.

His own staff didn't question his sudden attachment to tend to this one lone girl even as her condition was deemed stable, and even _while_ checking on her between other patients.

Carlisle didn't know how to answer as her question held more meaning behind it than she could have possibly intended. But he knew she was seeking for the simple answer.

"Yes. We were very worried. You gave us all a scare." Carlisle answered with a reassuring smile.

He knew that by stating the 'we and us' rather than focus on just him then it would seem his attention was more professional and less personal. Just as all the medical staff would use the collective of 'how are _we_ doing?' when they were sympathizing with a patient.

This sort of charade was one he didn't want to play with Bella, but with his current confused mind he didn't want to put more pressure on such a stressful situation.

After all, and though he didn't want to give more truth to the fact, but if he had gotten to her even a little late, she would have went into a seizure and bled to death.

The room fell into a pregnant silence as Carlisle simply stood watching Bella dissect what he provided. For a second he almost wished he could have said that _he_ was so very worried about her. But for someone as sure as Carlisle to be questioning his own words, it was just not within his nature. So he held his tongue. But he wished he could have turned back time and wonder how she would have reacted to his own worry. For some unknown reason, he wanted to be a little selfish.

Carlisle would have predicted that in Bella's true fashion, she would have assured him that she was fine. But as her eyes met his, and he saw her reaction, that shaky smile she tried to plaster on her face immediately vanished. And her confession caught Carlisle by surprise.

"I was pretty scared too. For a second I thought I was going to …" Her chin trembled and her eyes glistened with tears hanging by the tip of her lashes.

Carlisle sat at the edged of the hospital bed and gathered Bella in his arms as she started crying into his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck, mindful of the IV that was attached to her hand. She clung to him like she has never done since they have known each other.

And for the first time Carlisle held Bella and comforted her in way that he was sure would redefine their friendship into a whole unknown territory. But for now, he just settled for rubbing her back until she calmed down.

"Carlisle?" Bella called to him after the last tear dried completely.

"Yes, my dear." The warmth in his voice was so tangible that Bella snuggled closer into his neck. It wasn't unpleasant for him but he knew he would be paying for it somehow. It just felt too good.

For a few seconds Bella didn't speak, and Carlisle was starting to become tense. In his mind he felt like he crossed some sort of line. Perhaps holding her like this was too much for her. He should give her some space.

"Will you stay with me?" Carlisle blinked comically a few times as he absorbed her shy request. And possibly Bella was timid for a moment because she didn't know how Carlisle would view such a request.

He did stay with her when she was sleeping, but did she think he wouldn't now that she was awake, calm, and well?

Carlisle's entire body relaxed as he started rubbing her back more in a caring sentiment. He wanted to refrain from doing something else, but he did it anyway because he didn't want to deny himself – he kissed her gently on the head like he always did so casually. But unlike before, it crossed again into that unknown line. However, Carlisle pushed that thought into the back of his mind for later.

Right now this girl needed him, and he would be there for her in any form of comfort she needed him to be. She was precious to him. And of that fact, Carlisle was most sure.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." He spoke into her hair. But Bella was already dozing off from the fatigue of such an eventful day, the blood loss, and the hypnotic stroke of Carlisle's hand on her back.

* * *

Winter break had passed. Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett were back home from their '_tropical regions_' trip to start school and the new semester.

Carlisle knew that Bella would be starting the semester as well. Meaning she would not have time to even casually visit the hospital unless it was a medical emergency, and for that he did not wish it on her. Not after that horrible accident that nearly lost her life.

But for the non-medical visits, he had mixed emotions on them. He wanted Bella to visit the hospital, but he hoped it was more for _him_ and less for the other young male figure in the facility – A certain green-eyed, sandy haired doctor came to mind.

After all, wasn't Carlisle more entitled to it? He knew Bella first, and she was in all levels of the sense his friend and much more familiar with Carlisle and his family than the other doctor.

She knew of their secret for heaven's sake! That alone put her in much risk. Carlisle and his family members would go to many lengths to ensure that the Volturi under any cost did not find out about Bella.

She was as part of their family as any of the other Cullen members. Alice and Emmett loved her like a true sister. Edward and Jasper took more efforts into getting to know her than any human schoolmate they had. Rosalie was Rosalie, and that went without saying. And Esme doted on Bella like she was her own daughter.

So no thank you! Because this Fellow doctor had no right to befriend Bella more than Carlisle did. And technically, he was much too older for someone like Bella to be so friendly and close with.

While according to all the forged legal documents Carlisle and Jasper drew up, Carlisle may have stated in all his identification that he was 32 years old – Dr. Eliot Marshall was _28 years old_. He was physically older than Carlisle's frozen true age of 23, and _technically_ he was older than both Bella and Carlisle.

So that should be more than enough reason for Bella to stop socializing with his colleague.

Shouldn't it?

Carlisle had to stop dead in his tracks when he noticed all the reasons he was trying to pile up. And the phantom tightening in his chest disturbed him when he was sure he never felt like this before. But all the telltale signs were there, mainly the sense of overprotection, worry, discomfort, heightened awareness, and possessiveness.

Was he _jealous_?

Nurses and doctors walking past him shot the blond doctor a few odd gazes, and as he was willing his feet to move despite the stunned look on his face, a feminine voice called to him from behind. Carlisle tried to turn around so very slowly, all the while using those precious seconds to compose his feature into the visage he was accustomed to presenting.

His golden eyes came in contact with the bright blue of Nurse Emma's jubilant gaze. And Carlisle, for the second time, tried to look not so shocked seeing as this is not the assigned floor for the nurse to be working on, in addition to the fact that she was the last person Carlisle wanted to even run into. Not after his little epiphany.

"Is there something you need, nurse?" he hadn't meant for his tone to come out as cold and clipped. But he really didn't want to engage with anyone in any topic if it wasn't urgent. And he hoped she came all the way to the _3__rd__ floor_ for something important. And the only thing that could get Carlisle's attention now was a life and death matter.

Taken aback by the doctor's curt tone when compared to his usually pleasant personality caused the nurse to become tongue-tied and blanch at the surprising shift in his mood. But it also peaked her curiosity.

Rather than retreat, she strategized instead. Pursing her nude lipstick-colored lips, she gave Carlisle a long knowing glance before she spoke to him in a low voice. "Are you ok, Dr. Cullen? You don't look so well."

She took a step forward and placed her hand on his arm. Her fruity perfume invaded his nose, and it wasn't flattering in the least. "Please let me walk you to your office. It's the least I could do. You always work so hard and you need to relax a little." She smiled sweetly. And when they would get to his office, then she would be alone with him to make a proper move – one she was confident he would not deny her in any way.

But Carlisle wasn't privy to the nurse's plan at seducing him once she got him alone. In his mind, if he indulged her to walk to his office then at least he would get her off his back and hopefully lock himself inside for a few minutes to get his wits about him.

If Carlisle were more collected, he would have even flat out told her it would not have been needed and resumed his work. But his mind wasn't working properly on focusing in the now – distracted was the right term. The dark haired nurse's attention was all on him, but Carlisle was barely even acknowledging her presence.

"Alright." He spoke. But his voice was vacant, and far away. He didn't even meet her gaze as he replied.

However, the busty nurse was practically glowing with triumph, and her artificially whitened smile could practically blind people far and near. She didn't let go of his arm as she steered Carlisle in the direction of the nearest elevators. And when they approached the vertical steel doors that went from floor to floor, one of those three same doors pinged open and Carlisle's eyes widened when he saw who walked out from them.

Bella could have been the exact depiction of Carlisle's shock. She looked to him, and then looked to the nurse beside him, and then her eyes went down to the hand on his arm before she returned her gaze to look at the blond doctor.

Then her entire demeanor completely changed.

Her face looked like someone had just slapped her hard, and she was blushing more scarlet than Carlisle has ever seen. Her heart was beating so loud; it might have even been a drum beside Carlisle's own ear.

Bella took a step back toward the open elevator door. Carlisle could see she wanted to somehow escape this entire horrible scene. But Carlisle _knew_ she misunderstood what she saw, whatever it was she thought she saw, and when he finally came to his senses he was about to reach forward to stop her.

Then suddenly everything happened so fast for Carlisle to act; yet so slow that he caught every single detail.

Bella bumped into a petite nurse who had a glucose IV packet attached to a covered needle. The collision caused the nurse's thumb to press on the plastic top and unseal the needle, which simultaneously flew to the IV packet and pricked the plastic bag which caused the sealed liquid content to explode right onto Bella's clothes.

The little nurse was practically mortified. Especially with Carlisle being her superior was there to witness her clumsy act. If Carlisle wasn't already used to one inept girl who had a habit of tripping on air, then he would have shook his head in disapproval. But Carlisle was long since used to it.

"Oh Dr. Cullen I am so very sorry!" She apologized to Carlisle for witnessing her incompetence.

And almost immediately the young nurse turned to Bella, and paled in humiliation. "Miss I am so so sorry! Please accept my apology. It was my mistake. I didn't see where I was going. I should have been more careful …" And she would have babbled on if Carlisle hadn't interrupted her frantic apology.

"Do not worry about it .." Carlisle noticed she wasn't wearing any official identification on her or a name-tag of sort, which meant she was just starting her work. He couldn't fault her for being a novice. After all everyone learns from their mistakes, and she was bound to make plenty.

Feeling more of his regular efficient self, Carlisle approached Bella who was still frozen on the spot. "Let's get you cleaned, shall we?" she jumped when she felt Carlisle's hand around her shoulder. And all Bella could do was look up at him and nod once, as Carlisle observed that she was too stunned to speak.

"Umm .. Doctor Cullen, please allow me in lending her my spare uniform. I can send her outfit to the hospital's laundry service to be handled." The young nurse might have been a beginner but she was quick on her feet. Carlisle had to give her credit for that.

"That's will be very fine. Please bring the spare garments to my office where Bella will change." He instructed to the young nurse and she dashed away feeling more relieved and in less trouble.

As Carlisle was guiding Bella in the other direction he heard the loud and intended cough of a certain forgotten female. "Ah-hem .. _Doctor Cullen_ .." Nurse Emma tapped her foot impatiently.

But Carlisle could only think of doing one thing he hated ever doing. He tilted his head and smiled that devastatingly handsome smile that he knew would stop any woman's heart and jump-start it back to life all in one millisecond. And the dark-haired nurse was no exception to the obvious vampiric predatory charm.

"Nurse Emma, would you be a dear and see to the cleaning staff to have this mess," he tilted his chin to whatever IV fluid that didn't spill on Bella, which covered the floor. ".. cleaned properly. We do not want someone to slip and hurt themselves, do we?"

Just in case, Carlisle knocked his smile up another notch. The nurse's breath was literally caught in her throat as she blushed all over.

And Carlisle walked away with Bella still by his side, but he noticed she was a little too tense where he had his arm around her shoulder. But she still remained quiet, and when Carlisle peered at her from the corner of his eyes, he saw she was biting her lip and staring straight ahead.

Two floors down, and some minutes later. The same nurse that made a mess of Bella's outfit showed up with her spare uniform and handed it to Bella. Carlisle and – he learned the nurse's name then – Sally stood outside of Carlisle's closed office door as Bella changed inside.

Nearly two minutes later the door opened and Bella handed Nurse Sally her wet clothes. The nurse took them and nodded her head to both of them before she disappeared down the hall, and probably to the laundry room in the basement of the hospital.

Carlisle closed the office door behind him, and now he and Bella awkwardly stood there. Him looking at Bella's profile, while she stood there with hands clasped over her chest and gazing at the window outside as both of them remained silent.

It occurred to Carlisle that since he saw Bella today, she didn't speak a single word, only maybe to address Nurse Sally when she handed her clothes.

Not being able to handle the quiet that was obviously saturating the office with a tense atmosphere, Carlisle finally broke the silence – more out of curiosity.

"I thought you start school today." He meant to ask, but it came out more of a statement.

Bella sighed and Carlisle noticed that same tenseness he felt when he held her by the shoulders to sag a little from her posture now, like a semblance of defeat … ?

Still refusing to meet his gaze, Bella looked down at her feet as she spoke, her hair tumbling over her shoulders to partially cover her lower face. "We had a half day. No classes, mostly orientation." She shrugged. It bothered Carlisle a lot that she wouldn't look at him.

Carlisle could only guess at what was going through her mind, but he hoped they were at a better standing to at least be open to discuss what bothered them. When Bella would come over to their house, and by some miracle Carlisle would be home too, they would talk about everything and nothing for hours. To see her now so closed off like they were strangers who haven't even met, it really hurt Carlisle's feelings.

Well he had enough, and he was about to address the issue when Carlisle noticed Bella's hand going up to her collarbone and neck, and she had a displeased look on her face. She stared at her hand and then pressed it again to the bare skin under her chin.

"Is something wrong with your neck, Bella?"

"Some of the IV liquid spilt on it, and now it's dry and sticky." She replied.

"I have some sterile wipes in my desk." He went around his desk and retrieved the packet of wet tissues from the drawer.

He returned to the front where Bella was standing, waiting for him. And Carlisle didn't know why he said it, but the words were out before he could stop himself.

"Allow me." He spoke as he pulled out a wet tissue.

He thought Bella would have objected and offered to clean it off herself. But she surprised Carlisle when she gazed at him with wide eyes and remained silent. Instead she turned her face the other way offering Carlisle a better view of what is exposed from the skin of her silky flawless neck and collarbone.

Carlisle stood frozen for a trivial second at the situation he trapped himself into. Here he was standing in front of this girl who wore a borrowed nurse's outfit that hugged her body in a way no normal uniform should, with naked feet all the way to mid-upper legs. It seems that even in petite standards, Nurse Sally was smaller in size than Bella – Two sizes too small to be exact.

Like a dear caught in the headlights, he felt lost for a moment but his hands moved on their own accord while his brain battled with his thoughts. And before he knew it his hand that clutched the wet tissue came into contact with Bella's hot skin.

Carlisle heard a small gasp escape from her lips, but he couldn't compel himself to look at her. He knew that if he looked at her face he would just end up dropping the tissue and run out of his own office, rudely leaving Bella in the wake of his dust.

But being the man that he was, since he instigated the offer, it would be the most proper thing to see to his task till the end and then politely leave. So that is what Carlisle decided to do.

But it didn't ease his mind as he continued to slowly press the tissue on her skin with his palm, that another part of his brain urged him to admire the beautiful texture of Bella's warm skin at a much closer expanse.

He could feel under his touch and hear Bella's pulse picking up. And a part of him was dying to know what she was thinking of. But being in such a position offered Carlisle no more courage to even attempt to fill the silence with idle chatter.

In an attempt to avoid looking at her face, his eyes wandered down to her borrowed garments. Carlisle noticed with shock that she wasn't wearing her bra as his hands dared to travel a fraction down. And with the outfit being so tight, it pressed her breasts together to give a natural cleavage.

"Your not wearing your bra?" and he felt like putting his foot in his mouth for being so outrageously forward, but he couldn't stop his gaze from looking at the bare flesh of her chest as it pressed tightly to the nurse's uniform.

And as if to torment him some more, her nipple hardened to display their prominence against the cotton fabric.

Under Carlisle's hand and gaze, Bella's chest rose and fell with the shuddering breath she took. "Yeah .." she whispered in a wispy voice. It caught Carlisle's attention and he dragged his eyes from her chest to look at her face. His honey eyes met with her rose colored pouting lips, parting for air. And the half-mast glazed look that darkened those chocolate eyes almost to black. Her cheeks were lovely and beyond scarlet with coyness.

Carlisle inhaled sharply as he watched in awe of this lovely vision of a girl who was an inch away from being pressed to his body.

Whatever grasp he had on the napkin in his hand loosened as he dropped it to the floor and wrapped his strong arm around the young girl's waist and pressed her flush against him, chest to chest.

Bella panted in surprise but she didn't protest nor shown any discomfort as her tender soft body molded perfectly with Carlisle's hard form. Her unprotected breasts meshed so deliciously against this breathtaking man's firm pectorals. And she boldly placed her hands on his chest and stroked him through his shirt, loving the distinctness of his muscles.

"Bella …" Carlisle whispered. Simply adoring her hands on him, warm palms and curious fingers.

Their faces were not so very close together as Carlisle was so clearly towering over her small frame. And Bella had to crane her neck to gaze up at him at such a close proximity. That couldn't have been very comfortable for her.

Carlisle didn't hesitate to pick Bella up by her waist and place her on his desk. He thanked his lucky stars that his desk was always neat and tidy from any files and strewn papers. Because Carlisle Cullen wasn't the dramatic type to run his arm over his desk and clear all the contents of the tabletop to the floor to ravish the lady he so desired. The less mess the better.

And when he situated the object of his desires on the desk, she parted her legs for him so instinctively, welcoming Carlisle's body into her embrace. The moment they were connected hip to hip, and now that Bella was more on level with Carlisle's body, he approached her and made proper use of his hands.

He wrapped one hand around the small of her back, and cupped her face with the other, savoring the sweet feel of her warm blushing cheeks.

"Bella .." Carlisle whispered again. As though he tasted her name on his lips for the very first time. And perhaps he was. And he liked it. All these recent feelings were new to him, but he liked them.

Slowly and as light as a feather, he swept his lips over hers. Carlisle wished to be subtle, experimental even. Coaxing her reaction. Measuring his control. To see which sort of pressure worked best to mold their mouths. But as Bella's patience grew thin, she wrapped her hands behind his neck, into his soft blond hair, and instantly took charge of the kiss.

Carlisle was taken by surprise at the passion this girl held just from this simple chaste peck. But regaining his senses, he parted his lips and started showering her with wet kisses. He enjoyed the soft moans that emanated from her.

Bella wrapped her legs around Carlisle waist and tried to bring his body even closer to her but with Carlisle's strong equilibrium, Bella pushed _herself_ on him instead.

She squeaked in surprise at the yield of his strong body, and as her mouth parted Carlisle slipped his slick tongue into her.

Her innocent sighs from moments ago could not even compare to the passionate sounds she was producing now as Carlisle's tongue glided over hers. He enjoyed the lovely, hot taste of Bella. She truly tasted as good as she smelled, so provocatively edible. And the hint of her raspberry flavored Chapstick was sweet and sexy. It practically burned him, right into his memory and that exquisite tangy taste of this bewitching young girl.

And while Carlisle was busy getting to enjoy every detail of Bella's taste, mouth, and tongue to his familiarity. His hands were doing an exploring of their own as they snaked over her body and curves. Down and down until they came to rest on her tender thighs. He caressed the flesh with his fingers and he loved how her body squirmed under his attention.

But Carlisle craved more.

His curious fingers went deeper, taking the hem of the short uniform higher, until they came into contact with her inner thighs and his fingertips brushed delicately to the edges of her panties.

For a moment Bella broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Carlisle's. His whiskey bathed eyes stared into her chocolate gaze, waiting for her permission to proceed or to pause.

Bella lowered her hands and rested them on the bottom of his shirt where Carlisle had it tucked neatly into his pants, and then with much fumbling on her part, she pulled his shirt out from its careful confines.

And though her hands were all over the place, she knew exactly what she wanted. Bella pressed her hot little hands over Carlisle's abdomen, which twitched from the sudden warm contact. And she took her time exploring the contours of his perfect abs and muscles.

She pressed her lips softly over Carlisle's lips in a slow tender kiss before she whispered against them in a pleading subtle voice.

"Touch me, Carlisle."

And he did. He finally fucking _touched_ her. His fingers didn't start with teasing her over her panties. He directly went beyond the confines of her underwear and straight for his target. Her pussy.

His fingertips began their conquest there. First by running them up and down her wet slit before parting them to go beyond the plump flesh and into her inner labia. If Carlisle thought her mouth to be hot, then her flesh was on fire between her legs. It was the hottest part of the human body Carlisle has ever touched. _And so soft_. So very very soft against his callous fingers.

Carlisle came to one single immediate notion as he had his fingers between Bella's legs.

Her sex was as tender as a ripe peach.

The more he fingered her, the more juices began to flow and seep into her panties and on his hand. And Carlisle enjoyed spreading it all over her flesh to make his fingers slide with ease as he played with her most intimate part.

When he was sure she liked the gentle coaxing of his fingers over her sex, he then softly began to probe _inside_ her.

Bella's moans and soft mewls turned into erotic delicate whimpers. Whimpers of words. Whimpers of his name. Carlisle's name.

It was _his name_ she was calling.

It was _his hands_ that were giving her pleasure.

And it was _his body_ …. Being welcomed by her warm tender thighs.

'_Tender ….' _

Carlisle hesitated for a moment, as he stood between her legs and had fingers touching at her pink moist flesh – plump, swollen and lubricated, ready…. for him to penetrate.

But he paused. He looked into Bella's eyes, and their gazes met. She was barely able to keep her eyes open. He stood there, admiring the beautiful glory that was this auburn haired angel before him. She was so clouded with pleasure and euphoria that in her eyes Carlisle simply glowed with his pale flesh and fair golden hair. She could almost hallucinate that he was a divine being. To her Carlisle will always be the most divine man she ever laid eyes on.

However the look in his eyes brought some awareness back into her lust-hazed mind. Bella propped herself back on one hand as her brow creased in confusion.

Before she could give voice to Carlisle's sudden pause, he spoke his worry. "Bella, my dear. I have never done this before. Never with a human."

To Bella's ears that almost sounded like a withdrawal. Her eyes widened, she clenched her teeth and remained silent. But Carlisle saw the flicker of shock in her eyes and immediately made haste to rectify.

"I want you, Bella. Make no mistake." He lowered his head and gazed at her from beneath his lashes. "If you are willing to have me." The bashfulness in his tone took her breath away.

She bent towards him, cupping his cheeks in both her hands and kissed him on the forehead, and then on his cheekbones, finally her lips caught his in a searing kiss. Bella beckoned him with her tongue, and Carlisle deepened the kiss before they both withdrew and were panting heavily.

"I want you too, Carlisle. And I am yours to have as well." Bella whispered between light chaste kisses.

Carlisle returned her kisses with as much as he received. "I don't want to hurt you." She was precious to him. And that was a revelation in it's self.

"I trust you, Carlisle. _**I trust you**_," Bella took hold of his hands, and he allowed her as she brought them up between them. "And I trust these hands with my life." She said to him. Her eyes didn't waver in their intensity as she validated the bond they shared. The bond that held their friendship and a little something more …

He couldn't hold in his desire any longer. At her sweet words, he descended on her mouth, as he tasted the warmth of those very same lips that spoke those words that moved his heart. But he suddenly ceased from their kiss just as Bella was starting to get into it. Carlisle backed away from her lips and her body.

"What are yo…" Bella's voice faded as she saw Carlisle rush to the door to lock it. And she blushed when she realize that until this point, _anyone_ could have walked in on them in such a compromising and intimate position.

Yet Bella didn't have time to ponder on that '_what if_' catastrophe as Carlisle walked over to the sofa on the other end of the wall and grabbed the cushions, only to toss them on the floor in a pile.

Carlisle suddenly appeared in front of Bella, making her flinch and yelp when he wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her against his body. Bella instinctively wrapped her legs around his torso as he walked them both to the pile on the floor, and gracefully lowered Bella down until she was nestled with her back shielded by soft cushions – while Carlisle was kneeling over her.

He looked at the beauty of the innocent girl before him as her hair cascaded all around her head like a soft mahogany veil. Her eyes wide and curious, and rose kissed lips parted. And lastly his eyes rested on that beautiful scarlet blush that saturated the room with her intoxicating scent.

"My apologies that our first time isn't done properly on a bed. But I hope you accept this makeshift situation. I just ….. can't wait to be inside you any longer." Carlisle smiled as he spoke – His eyes wandering over her body with much desired hunger and admiration.

The nurse's outfit that clung to Bella's body was by far the most surrealist thing. It was like peering into a whole alternative universe where Bella worked beside Carlisle, assisting him. Always there for him to aid him in his work to treat and heal people.

Yet, as he admired how the hem practically crawled up her thigh, giving him a view of her creamy legs and a hint of panties, the ones he dipped his fingers into not a few seconds ago. And the way the dress hugged her torso so tight against her braless chest that the buttons threatened to snap, simply transformed this lovely girl into a sensual and otherworldly erotic creature made entirely just for him.

Biting her lip, Bella spoke softly. "We can save the bed for next time, maybe?" She felt her cheeks grow hotter at the words she chose to say, and hoped she wasn't being too perverse with their intent.

Carlisle chuckled deeply at her gale. "Whatever you want, my dear." But he liked the way her mind worked.

He slowly hovered over her body and gave her lips a small chaste kiss, and then another and another. Until the small contact of lips grew into a passionate union of mouths and slick tongues, mating against each other. Bella's hands went to grab hold of his strong biceps while Carlisle skillfully unbuttoned the white nurse's outfit she had on.

"Have you ever considered a profession in medicine? The uniform is very becoming of you." Carlisle spoke between kisses while he was busy peeling the clothing from her body.

"Oh Doctor Cullen, are you offering me a position?" She meant to respond provocatively but his greedy yet strong hands on her body made her shudder in pleasure.

"Hmmm …. _Several_ positions," he hummed appreciatively as he worked his way to her neck.

When he pressed his nose to a sensitive spot next to her pulse point, she shivered in delight and gripped his arms tighter. "I think you would just like to take the uniform off me more than seeing me in it." She retorted and Carlisle can hear the smile in her tone.

"Mmm … perhaps you are right. Perhaps I should keep a few back at the house for our own use."

"A doctor with a nurse fetish. How depraved!" she mewled when he licked her behind her ear. And it just felt so good as it reached all the way to that aching spot between her legs, moistening her flesh more.

"You are my _only_ fetish." He whispered huskily as he gazed into her eyes before he took care of the last button on the white garment and parted the dress to revealed her pale creamy flushed skin for his eyes – Braless and in only a small pair of cotton white soaked panties – so incredibly wet they became sheer and translucent. Carlisle could see every detail of her pretty pink folds, and his cock grew and twitched for it. But he wanted to prolong the moment and just enjoy seeing Bella's nude body for the first time.

Carlisle's hands went to her thighs and he touched the skin and marveled at her developed curves. His fingers slowly crawled up to her waist, as his eyes analyzed and memorized every detail of her beautiful adolescent body. He could already tell where his hands wanted to touch the most when they ascended upward and stopped over the modest mounds of her youthful breasts.

He gently squeezed the soft flesh to test Bella's reaction and when she rewarded him with a moan, he started to massage them with his palms and knead them with his long skilled fingers. Bella began to squire under him and arched her back when Carlisle pinched her stiff nipples.

He was curious as to how they would feel against his lips and inside his mouth. He was salivating in anticipate. And without warning her, he dipped his head down and captured one nipple between his lips, perfectly mindful not to nick it with his sharp teeth. He sucked on the little pink nub and loved the feel of it in his mouth and all the wonderful sounds it was producing from the girl beneath him.

Carlisle released her nipple and stuck his tongue out to roll the peak around his wet appendage. Coating it with his saliva and then blowing cold air on it and watching in awe how hard the tiny flesh peddled and darkened.

Fascinated with repeating this little experience, he kissed his way to her other breast and lavished his mouth and tongue on the other bud, while his free hand rolled and pinched the first abused nipple.

Being trounced with much physical sensation from pleasure to nearly painful, Bella bucked her hips upward and right into Carlisle's poised pelvis. In pure sheer luck, her center slid deliciously over Carlisle's steady erection.

Bella gasped. And Carlisle froze with his mouth still on her nipple.

"Oh god! I want to feel that again!" Bella moaned and slid her hips over his once more.

Her panties were soaked through and the wetness was starting to seep onto Carlisle's own trousers as she continued to rub her sex over his.

Carlisle was shaking over his erect prick. He could feel the warmth and wetness of her. And it was driving him crazy. If this continues …

He placed his hands over Bella's hips and stopped her movements.

"My dear if you keep this up I will not be able to last …" He muttered against the valley of her breasts.

He reached over to kiss her softly on the lips. But Bella caught him by surprise as she whispered with each kiss her plea. "Please let me look at you, Carlisle." To clarify what she meant, she reached down between them and took a hold of his cock in her hand and stroked him through his pants.

Carlisle hissed sharply but he didn't push her hand away. Nor did he think he was able to hold off his lust for her any longer. He wanted her and he wanted to be inside her _so badly_!

He knelt back on his knees again and Bella's hand went with him, moving her palm over his length as she watched Carlisle remove his clothes piece by piece. First he dropped the doctor's coat off his shoulders then he glided his hands over his dress shirt and button-by-button they parted to reveal that perfect pale flawless skin of his torso. When he reached the last two buttons, he couldn't wait anymore and instead just ripped the shirt off him, causing the buttons to bounce off and skid across the floor.

When Carlisle's hand went to his belt, Bella stopped stroking him but she didn't take her hand away. She gulped loudly. And Carlisle peered at her for a second, thinking perhaps she changed her mind but instead he saw the anticipation in her eyes.

He resumed unfastening himself, but he kept his eyes on her face, watching her as she watched him reveal himself to her.

And when he pulled his fully erect penis from the confines of his trousers, Bella's eyes widened and her lips parted. Her heart picked up into a faster pace.

And for the first time in over three hundred years of existing, Carlisle Cullen felt extremely self-conscious. He never thought there would be a day when he would surrender his sense of modesty and feel so very vulnerable at the same time. But he felt a little bit foolish as right in front of him laid a girl much more nude than him.

And _he_ was the one who felt most exposed?

Suddenly he felt warm hands grasp his length and work his skin back and forth. He closed his eyes and could feel himself tighten and coil, and so ready to snap.

"Bella … Bella," he heard himself nearly begging. "I need to be in you. Please." He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed his thumbs in circles over her bare skin. Even his touches held a certain implore to them.

But Carlisle didn't care any more. His inhibitions were thrown out the window the moment he closed the door to his office and insolated himself with this young girl who was currently familiarizing herself with the most intimate part of his anatomy.

And as she laid down over the pile of cushions under her, Carlisle hovered carefully over her body. He hooked his fingers into her panties and slid them past her thighs, over her legs and let them drop beside him.

Carlisle placed his hands on her knees and parted her legs for him to slide his hard body and press himself in the most comfortable alignment for their hips to join. And for last measures, he pressed his digits over her folds and beyond to make sure she was well lubricated all around her entrance. He slid his fingers inside her and Bella immediately responded by bucking her hips against his palm and pushing his fingers deeper into her. He worked his fingers in her pussy, stretching and preparing her inner-walls for a much harder and thicker appendage.

And as swift as he retracted his fingers from Bella's body, Carlisle then grabbed his erection and guided the tip to her entrance. And as slow as possible, he pushed himself inside her warm body inch by agonizing inch. The feeling of her walls stretching to accommodate his girth was a hypnotizing sensation, and the heat of her core that seemed to radiate all over Carlisle's body made him shiver in satisfaction.

Half inside her already, Carlisle stopped, as much as this felt amazing to him. Carlisle wanted to be sure Bella was not in any discomfort. "Is this good?" he tentatively asked.

Bella shifted her hips under him and moaned at the friction. "Yeah … please _don't stop_."

And that is all the permission Carlisle needed as he proceeded to bury his cock further into her plaint body until he was completely nestled inside. When he looked down he noticed there was still some left to go, but she was so tight it was already overwhelming to have this much in her and not completely surrender to a more savage need to shove himself roughly further in when her body couldn't receive more of him. Carlisle had to remind himself that Bella was still a tender human girl.

Instead, he withdrew his length from her sheath and then pushed it back in. Trying to find the perfect rhythm between them that they both would enjoy. And thrust after thrust, it was all left to basic and primitive instincts, as the delicious feeling of his velvety skin sliding along Bella's moist flesh was all he could think of and feel.

Bella's moans encouraged Carlisle all the more. And when she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to meet his rhythm in perfect sync, it was heavenly. She clenched around his length every time Carlisle pushed into her, and he just felt like he was reaching his limit when the connection of their bodies became more urgent.

He grabbed Bella by the tender flesh of her behind and hoisted her hip more at an upward slant, making Carlisle push even deeper inside her. Bella's mewls became more primal as she fell back onto the pillows. And Carlisle knew his orgasm was close but he didn't want to cross that line without her.

Carlisle gently pressed his palm over her mound and comfortably rested his fingers on her clitoris. Using the primal natural lubricant that joined their bodies, he coated his fingers with the slick juices. And very carefully Carlisle began to rub his fingers in a circular motion on her clit to coax Bella into her orgasm.

Bella's hips froze in their movements even while Carlisle continued to work himself inside her, and she tried her best to open her eyes to gaze at him through her haze. "W-what …are you doing?" she moaned, her bare breasts rising and falling rapidly with her rushed breathing.

"I'm making you cum." He spoke before he quickened the motion of his fingers on her sensitive nerves. He could feel its affect on the writhing girl beneath him as she clenched around his length more erratically. They were so close. Just a little more …

And then his fingers released their magic upon her as Bella's orgasm gripped his cock so tightly that it was enough to send Carlisle into his own world of pleasure, spilling his release into her in deep, jerky pumps. Before falling to the side to lie on the empty space on the cushions and dragging the fully sated young girl with him, and into his arms.

Still fully intoxicated in her orgasmic afterglow, Bella lifted her head to give Carlisle a lopsided grin before she kissed him fully on the lips. Closing his eyes, Carlisle reciprocated her kiss while stroking his fingers over her naked back as they basked in each other's companionship in his public office, in broad daylight. With anyone being able to walk by and simply press their ear on his office door to know what sort of naughty provocations Dr. Carlisle Cullen was up to.

And quite frankly, putting it in Emmett's own words: Carlisle Cullen could barely give a fuck to care what anyone thought except for the girl that lay naked in his arms.

For a while the two lovers lay there, wrapped up in each other's arms. And with Bella nuzzling Carlisle's neck, she would plant a kiss on the side of his neck, while he enjoyed running his hand through her hair.

None of them spoke, and for just that short time the silence was very serene. But the more Carlisle remained quiet, the more that prolonged silence made his thoughts fester.

And a certain question was right there on the tip of his tongue. Yet he wanted to curse himself for ruining this perfect moment. But the curiosity of the matter was killing him.

"Why did you come here today, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

Bella hummed against his neck as she answered dreamily. "It's not important. Why do you ask?"

Even with her effortless tone, Carlisle still couldn't shake the sudden unease he felt. "I was under the impression you were here for a reason."

"What other reason do I have?" She snuggled closer seemingly unaware of the troubled man beside her.

He stared at the ceiling for a while before he spoke carefully. "I assumed you came here to see someone other than me."

And that's when Bella froze. She disentangled herself from the gorgeous half naked man beside her to stare into his eyes. "Huh?" Her eyes creased in sincere confusion.

Carlisle made a valiant effort to keep constant eye contact and not let his eyes wander so distractedly at her nude body. All it took was one look down to her bare breasts and he would _erect_ another issue between them.

Instead, Carlisle's stared at the girl with his own confusion. "So you weren't coming here to see Doctor Marshall?"

"No." Bella frowned, shaking her head.

"But I saw you talking to him in the hallway … and before that … outside the hospital."

Bella placed her hand on his chest, and immediately Carlisle swallowed his words before she spoke. "I never came to see him. I just happen to run into him on my way to see _you_! But when he tells me your busy I just give up and go home."

"You could have told me." Carlisle objected.

Bella's eyes suddenly softened. "I didn't want to be a bother to you, Carlisle." She shrugged and bowed her head away from him.

But he was having none of it as he grasped her chin between his fingers and brought her face gently to his view. "Then why did you start calling him by his given name?"

Her brown eyes widened. "Eliot told me to. I … I accidentally called you Carlisle instead of Dr. Cullen in front of him, so then he insisted I call him by his own name too."

Carlisle still didn't understand and it frustrated him. "But _why_?" he asked, and his distant gaze directed the question more to the air around them.

Luckily he didn't have to torture himself on the answer for long. "He said I reminded him a lot of his little sister. She is almost my age and she goes to our school."

Carlisle looked to Bella and frowned. "Eliot has a sister?" he asked and he didn't take notice that he called his own colleague by his given name too.

But Bella noticed and she giggled and shook her head. "For someone who claims to be their mentor, you don't know much about your own subordinate." She tapped his nose gently with her finger.

Carlisle sighed loudly and dropped the heavy tension from his shoulders. He read too much into something that wasn't there, and took the matter completely out of proportion.

But on the other hand it opened his eyes to emotions and feelings he never knew existed, like love and regrettably jealousy too. But it wasn't at all for loss.

On the contrary, with the beautiful naked girl currently beside him – Carlisle could say he pretty much came out a winner.

So he gently pulled her back to lie down in his arms. And Bella went back to nuzzling his neck affectionately like she has been doing it all their lives.

But Carlisle had to be extra sure,

"So you don't have any feelings for my colleague?" he asked cautiously. And were he to blush, Carlisle was sure his cheeks would turn a peach pink.

He expected Bella to be a little annoyed at his doubting words, but opposing his expectation she grinned instead. "Why _did_ you think I came all the way to the one place I disliked the most?"

Carlisle just stared at her. For once he didn't have an answer, and just shrugged his shoulders to his cluelessness.

"I like it when you fret over me and the extra care you give. I like it when you fix my jacket and rub my shoulders and kiss my head so tenderly." She pressed her hot cheek to his cold shoulder and stared at Carlisle through her lashes.

"Its my addiction." She confessed in a whisper.

Carlisle cupped her cheek, and gazed lovingly at her. "Next time you get that addictive need, you come _directly_ to me. Only me and no one else."

"Yes, Dr. Cullen." Bella replied before the delicious man-doctor-hunk pulled her in for a kiss.

And since then Carlisle didn't spend much of his nights at the hospital, not when he could spend them in Bella's bed.

**End**


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